Category Archives: Reading

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Love Comes Around (Senses #4) by Andrew Grey [CONTEST CLOSED]

44 Comments

Many thanks to Andrew Grey for donating an ebook copy of his forthcoming m/m romance, Love Comes Around (Senses #4), for a lucky commenter to win! Love Comes Around will be released by Dreamspinner Press on September 19.

Dan was a throwaway child and learned to take care of himself in foster care. As an adult, he devotes his life to the business he started and his heart to raising children no one else wants. Dan has already adopted six-year-old Lila, who walks on crutches, and then decides to adopt eight-year-old Jerry, who suffers from MD and is confined to a wheelchair.

Also abandoned as a child, Connor ended up on his own and retreated into himself. He works as a carpenter and woodcarver and is the perfect man to ensure Dan’s home becomes wheelchair accessible.

When Dan hires Connor, neither of the men are ready to open their hearts to the possibility of love. As they learn how much they have in common, both of them must weigh the possibility of family and a future against the risks of getting hurt again.

Other Books

About Andrew

Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation. Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing). He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about Andrew and his books at his website and his blog.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Thursday, September 18.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“Mooooooooooooom!!!! I’m hungry!!!!!!!!!” -Chaos

Covers, Reading

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 210th (The return of the return of LAG)

6 Comments

Congrats to Gina G, who won The Luckiest (Lucky Moon #2) (2nd ed) by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea! The Luckiest is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be catching up with Looking Away Guy (LAG).

Bar (which was located on

, across from

) kept

that he should really do some

ing before he decided to claim his

just

, even though James knew there was really no use

anything – Evan was always looking for thrills,

ing to temptation and going

over things. Why, just last week he’d tried

(definitely a

) because he was worried that

.

I know, I know, I wimped out on using a single run-on sentence…

*sulking about naughty boys* -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity lollipops with limitless centers

8 Comments

Congrats to Gina G, who won The Luckiest (Lucky Moon #2) (2nd ed) by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea! The Luckiest will be released by Dreamspinner Press on September 8.

Contest(s)

Bookity

Do, Think, Make, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update (brace yourselves for actual non-hockey related reviewettes!)
Welcome to Bordertown (Borderland #5), edited by Holly Black, Ellen Kushner, and Terri Windling. ebook. For me, urban fantasy is fantasy set in, duh, urban areas, in cities. Frequently the location is as much a character as it a setting. The stories are infused with hints of faerie and myth, both European and Native American, and when you finish reading, you can almost glimpse the fantastical out of the corner of your eye. The Borderland anthologies were among the earliest urban fantasy, about the mythical Bordertown that existed on the cusp of this world and the Faerie Realm. Revisiting Bordertown in this anthology after so much time (the most recent anthology was published in 1998) was a delightful trip, the chance to check in on old friends and make new ones. The list of contributors is impressive and includes Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Patricia A. McKillip, Emma Bull, and Cory Doctorow. (You can see the full list of contributors and read a few of the stories here.) Highly recommended.
Weezie Bat (Weezie Bat #1) by Francesca Lia Block. ebook. I don’t even know how to review this odd YA novel about Weezie Bat and her guy, and her best friend Dirk and his guy, living together in a cottage in LA. It had elements of urban fantasy and magical realism and the repetitively simple sentence structure drove me crazy, yet I read the whole thing.
Seven Wild Sisters: A Modern Fairy Tale by Charles de Lint, illustrated by Charles Vess. ebook. Very good ya illustrated contemporary fantasy about seven red-haired sisters living with their mother in the hills, most likely somewhere in the Ozarks. Things get a little messy when the middle sister manages to run afoul of the fairy folk. I originally read this in Tapping the Dream Tree many years ago.

*purple sun stupor* -Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: A Twist and Two Balls by Clare London [CONTEST CLOSED]

39 Comments

Congrats to Bogusia, who won A Forbidden Rumspringa by Keira Andrews! A Forbidden Rumspringa is being released today by KA Books.

Many thanks to Clare London for donating an ebook copy of her freshly released m/m romance, A Twist and Two Balls, for a lucky commenter to win!

Eduardo Mancini is going to be a star of the London stage and screen. Or that was the plan. His alter ego Eddy March hasn’t got further than the chorus and a bit part in a TV series. His parents aren’t supportive, his agent can’t place his particular skills, and he’s finding it hard to hang onto his young dreams. Things go from bad to worse when he’s late for an important audition, hasn’t got enough to money to pay the taxi fare, and is chased across the streets of Soho by the irate driver.

Eddy reaches what he believes is sanctuary – With A Kick, a store where ice creams are blended with alcohol and imagination, and where his friends can help him. But Nuri the taxi driver is persistent in his steady pursuit, above and beyond the money he’s owed. Despite their very different characters and background, Eddy and Nuri’s relationship goes from a complete unknown to a wary balancing act. There are still mistakes to be made, and hurdles to clear. And both of them have to admit that their life so far hasn’t gone the way they planned.

But maybe being caught by Nuri was just what Eddy’s career needed – both for his job and his heart.

Excerpt (scroll down)

Other Books by Clare

About Clare

Clare took the pen name London from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. A lone, brave female in a frenetic, testosterone-fueled family home, she juggles her writing with the weekly wash, waiting for the far distant day when she can afford to give up her day job as an accountant. She’s written in many genres and across many settings, with novels and short stories published both online and in print. She says she likes variety in her writing while friends say she’s just fickle, but as long as both theories spawn good fiction, she’s happy. Most of her work features male/male romance and drama with a healthy serving of physical passion, as she enjoys both reading and writing about strong, sympathetic and sexy characters.

Clare currently has several novels sulking at that tricky chapter 3 stage and plenty of other projects in mind… she just has to find out where she left them in that frenetic, testosterone-fueled family home.

All the details and free fiction are available at her website. Visit her today and say hello!

You can also visit Clare at her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Monday, September 15.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winner will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“I wish this was a carousel.” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Encore (The Replacement Guitarist #4) by Lori Toland [CONTEST CLOSED]

23 Comments

Many thanks to Lori Toland for donating an ebook copy of her freshly rereleased m/m romance, Encore (The Replacement Guitarist #4) (formerly known as Into the Light), for a lucky commenter to win!

Blaze Shinozuka is a bonafide rockstar with his band, Razor’s Edge. After his romance with music manager Jason Stockton crashed and burned, Blaze is free to live and love. It’s been a wild and heady year that’s been blissfully drama free until the one man he’s been avoiding comes careening back in to wreak havoc on his heart once again.

Jason Stockton has become the superstar he never wanted to be. When his music reality show becomes an overnight success, he’s thrust into the limelight against his will. He’s coping with intrusions into his private life but then a chance encounter sends him right into the arms of the man he loved…and lost.

Their time apart has changed them, except the passion between them burns brighter than ever. With the media hounding them in the midst of multiple scandals, they find they can only depend on one person – each other. Will they learn to trust that their love is enough to see them through it all? Or will this be their final dance before calling it quits, this time for good?

This gay romance was formerly known as Into The Light and contains less loving than previous books in the series but more anger and snark. It also contains some female lovin’, beloved character death and a possibly repentant pop star.

Other Books

About Lori

CEO by day, erotic romance writer by night, Lori Toland lives in Orlando where the summers are hot but the romance between her characters is even hotter. Writing since the tender age of 13, Lori somehow finds time to play video games and watch movies while taking care of her beloved cats and a husband who will forever be her hero. You can find out more about Lori and her books at her website, on her blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Monday, September 15.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old and that you can legally receive the book in the country in which you live.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

*stare-off* -Chaos and Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: A Matter of When by Eden Winters [CONTEST CLOSED]

51 Comments

Many thanks to Eden Winters for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, A Matter of When, for a lucky commenter to win! A Matter of When will be released September 15 by Dreamspinner Press.

Wealth. Fame. Gold record. Hookers and cocaine. Front man Henri Lafontaine has it all…including a control freak manager, band members who smile as they sharpen blades for his back, and last but damn well not least, a fan out to steal his heart. Literally. Trying to write hit songs and plan a comeback in the midst of the hi-fi white noise of LA feels more like watching his world implode, until he’s offered a month in the Colorado Rockies for vocal coaching.

Sebastian Unger’s rich, classically trained tenor inspires wicked thoughts. More than a pretty choir boy, he cracks the whip without hesitation to drive tattooed bad-boy Henri to give his all to his music. Working, fighting, and finally establishing a fragile peace, they find inspiration and perhaps more in each other. But the clock is ticking. Time will pull Henri back to the grit and gold of LA’s mean streets and fame machine, while Sebastian must return to the opera circuit, where a mysterious man known as “the patron” holds far too much sway. Only the trust they’ve built on a handful of notes bridges their two worlds…and shields them from malice.

Other Books by Eden

About Eden

Our heroine sits quietly in her cube, just one of many, typing, filing, and breaking the occasional nail, hiding her true identity beneath her clever disguise of nerdy glasses and business suits (with sensible shoes!). Frantic eyes watch the clock as she waits impatiently for the ruse to end and her true calling to begin.

With eager anticipation she drives her average car to her average home, and eats her average (vegetarian and completely healthy!) meal alone. The minutes tick by, and when the sun finally sets she leaps tall sofas in a single bound, shedding her disguise to take on her true super heroine persona! Is she in such a rush to save the world? Save the city? Save the neighbor’s kitten from a tree! No! She liberates her laptop from the evil clutches of arch villain, Hall Closet, and flings it open to free the worlds hiding within its depths. There are lonely werewolves searching desperately for mates, spoiled rich boys just waiting for her gentle caress of the keyboard to create someone who’ll truly understand them, and futuristic soldiers, gunning across the universe to save the men they love… No scenario is too bizarre! A time traveling pirate? No problem! Violin playing specter haunting a Scottish castle? You betcha!

When she’s not busily creating happy-ever-afters for fictional hotties, our heroine enjoys music, the great outdoors, and cruising down the highway on the back of a Harley Davidson.

You can visit Eden at her blog, website, and GoodReads.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, September 12.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

I managed to forget to change the email password for the blog, so for those who commented on yesterday’s post before 8 am CDT, your comments showed up just fine on the blog and for the contest, but I never received emails for the comments. Not ignoring you intentionally! 🙂

“Definitely not content here.” -Mayhem

*sun stupor* -Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: The Luckiest (Lucky Moon #2) (2nd ed) by Piper Vaughn & MJ O’Shea [CONTEST CLOSED]

53 Comments

Many thanks to Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea for donating an ebook copy of their forthcoming rereleased m/m romance, The Luckiest (Lucky Moon #2) (2nd ed), for a lucky commenter to win! The Luckiest will be released by Dreamspinner Press on September 8.

Rock star Nick Ventura has finally hit rock bottom. Jealous of his brother’s new love, he overindulges in his usual vices and winds up crashing his car into a department store in a drunken haze. Publicly humiliated and on the verge of jail time, he enters into a court-ordered rehabilitation program.

Nutritionist Luka Novak is flamboyant, effeminate, and the type of gay man bisexual Nick would normally sneer at. But his sunny nature hides a deep hurt caused by an unfaithful ex-boyfriend. As much as Luka knows he should be wary of Nick’s reputation, he’s drawn to Nick despite himself. Their tentative friendship turns into romance, but Luka soon comes to realize Nick’s fear of losing his bad boy reputation means he’ll probably never go public with their relationship.

Nick never needed anyone until Luka came into his life. Now he has to reconcile his carefree past with the future he suddenly wants more than anything. And the first lesson he must learn is how to become the man both he and Luka need him to be, rather than stay the boy he always was. Alone.

1st Edition published by Loose Id LLC, March 2012

Other Books

About Piper

Piper Vaughn wrote her first love story at eleven and never looked back. Since then, she’s known that writing in some form was exactly what she wanted to do. A reader at the core, Piper loves nothing more than getting lost in a great book – fantasy, young adult, romance, she loves them all (and has a thousand book library to prove it!). She grew up in Chicago, in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and loves to put faces and characters of every ethnicity in her stories, so her fictional worlds are as colorful as the real one. Above all, she believes that everyone needs a little true love in their life…even if it’s only in a book. You can find out more about Piper at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and joint blog with M.J.

About M.J.

M.J. O’Shea has been writing romance since algebra class in sixth grade (when most of her stories starred her and Leonardo DiCaprio). When she’s not writing, she loves listening to nearly all types of music, painting, reading great authors, and on those elusive sunny days in the Pacific Northwest, she loves driving on the freeway with her windows rolled down and her stereo on high.

You can find out more about M.J. at her website, Twitter, and joint blog with Piper.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, September 5.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winner will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“I am not sure if I am content here.” -Mayhem

*sun stupor* -Chaos

Covers, Reading

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 209th (Pucker Up and Kiss Me Guys [PUKMG])

8 Comments

Congrats to Azure Jones, who won Stripped Away (Stripped Clean #2) by Ellis Carrington!

Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be meeting the Pucker Up and Kiss Me Guys (PUKMG).

Their desire for the

of

initially led them on

to find

in the

, but ultimately resulted in

– the one who was

had no chance of being

, so he

the groom

because he liked

.

No one can claim that made sense, right?!

“Maybe I can block out everyone’s view of the naughty boys…” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: A Forbidden Rumspringa by Keira Andrews [CONTEST CLOSED]

39 Comments

Congrats to Tracy, who won Caught! (The Shamwell Tales #1) by JL Merrow! Caught! is being released today by Samhain Publishing.

Many thanks to Keira Andrews for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, A Forbidden Rumspringa, for a lucky commenter to win! A Forbidden Rumspringa will be released by KA Books on September 3.

When two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything?

In a world where every detail of life – down to the width of a hat brim – is dictated by God and the all-powerful rules of the community, two men dare to imagine a different way. At 18, Isaac Byler knows little outside the strict Amish settlement of Zebulon, Minnesota, where there is no rumspringa for exploration beyond the boundaries of their insular world. Isaac knows he’ll have to officially join the church and find a wife before too long, but he yearns for something else – something he can’t name.

Dark tragedy has left carpenter David Lantz alone to support his mother and sisters, and he can’t put off joining the church any longer. But when he takes on Isaac as an apprentice, their attraction grows amid the sweat and sawdust. David shares his sinful secrets, and he and Isaac struggle to reconcile their shocking desires with their commitment to faith, family and community.

Now that they’ve found each other, are they willing to lose it all?

Also by Keira

About Keira

After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical and fantasy fiction, and – although she loves delicious angst along the way – Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.” You can find out more about Keira and her books at her website and on Twitter and Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, September 2.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winner will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

*being beautiful* -Mayhem

Covers, Reading

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 208th (Open White Shirt, Hand on Hip Guy [OWSHoHG])

6 Comments

Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be meeting Open White Shirt, Hand on Hip Guy (OWSHoHG).

the

he needed to satisfy his

made OWSHoHG

with satisfaction and got him

, but it all turned out to be

when the

overran them.

Um. Eww?

“Naughty boys don’t purr! Only kitties purr!!!!!!” -Mayhem, indignantly